Place

Kijik Archeological District National Historic Landmark

View of Mountains and Valleys

NPS Photo

Quick Facts
Location:
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Significance:
Kijik Archeological District National Historic Landmark preserves extraordinary opportunities to recognize and study the complexities of Athabascan culture
Designation:
National Historic Landmark, since October 12, 1994
OPEN TO PUBLIC:
No
 

The Kijik Archeological District is an expansive collection of Dena'ina Athabascan villages that begin from around 2000 years ago, survives a brutal Russian occupation, and is eventually abandoned in the wake of the devastation of the early-20th century influenza epidemic. Although the housing stock was left to ruin as residents consolidated their population in the Village of Nondalton a few miles south, they still return annually to harvest plants and animals, and to spend time with their families.

The houses, steam baths, underground caches, community houses, and Russian Orthodox church that make up the district are the largest concentration of Dena'ina sites in Southwest Alaska. The Kijik Archeological District National Historic Landmark preserves extraordinary opportunities to recognize and study the complexities of Athabascan culture, their interactions with Yupi’k, Alutiiq, and Europeans, and some clues to their predecessors, in southwestern Alaska.


More National Historic Landmarks in Alaska

Lake Clark National Park & Preserve

Last updated: May 26, 2020